Marik In Wonderland
by kamy2425
Summary: Marik finally hallucinates by using the Millennium Rod the wrong way. Which causes him to have a very odd dream… (Wonderland AU/YGOTAS)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- The Dress, The Door, And The Mouse

A rush of wind passes his unawakened body as it falls down to a never-ending hole. Through his closed eyes, Marik catches different colors of lights passing by as his ears starts to ring. His mind tries to wake up his body with questions: _Where is he? What did he do?_ Marik stops asking as his body gets ready for its impact to the cold hard concrete when…

 _POOF!_ Marik feels his body coming up and then down against a soft ground below him. He stands up and realizes the many decorative and colorful mountains of pillows that broke his fall. Marik scratches his head and looks up to where the pit is, but a pink-purple checkerboard ceiling replaced it. Marik is trying to think what was his most recent evil plan. _Maybe he managed to open a portal to another realm? Is this the shadow realm? If it is, Marik has lots of questions._

And then he remembers. He was on a blimp…playing bingo or something, but his mind is still hazy and the memories are in a blur.

However, there is another matter at hand. As Marik takes his first steps forwards, he hears a hard boot noise against the solid polished ground. Marik looks down and saw that someone must have tampered with his wardrobe. His perfectly sleeve-less top has been replaced by a purple dress going all the way down to his feet. _So that's why Marik couldn't feel the cold wind around his abs!_ Since he has nothing else to wear, and as much as he would like to show off his amazing hot body… He decides not to catch a cold. Marik lifts off the dress a bit so he can see his new boots as he walks around the room.

He quickly manages to get used to the high heel boots of his, until a voice decides to change the scene. A shadowy figure rushes past him, and Marik quickly catches the sight of the figure as it yells in a monotone voice,

"Oh no, I'm late. I'm late."

"O-Odion?!"

His face is Odion, but Marik is not sure about the rest. He is small like the size of Marik's hairbrush, and his servant is wearing a tuxedo with big mouse ears on his head. Marik tries to catch the little rodent, fighting to keep up with his dress anchoring around him.

"Odion! This isn't time for cosplaying!"

The mouse doesn't listen to Marik, as his eyes are fixating on a large clock he keeps holding onto it as if it is a part of him. Marik however, is furious of this insubordination.

"Odion! Get back here immediately! I command you to-"

The clock mouse is a few feet away from the room's wall and _WHOOSH!_ He slides below a little door and disappears to the next chamber.

"Frig!" Marik stops his running and inspects the very tiny door. He bends over and tries to turn on the locked knob. _There's no doubt, Odion not obeying him? Mouse costumes? Marik in a frigging dress?! This MUST be a dream. It has to!_

After giving up several twists on the door, he decides to inspect his surroundings. " _Where is a British kitty when you need him?"_ Marik whispers under his breath, longing for some company.

There is nothing but walls covered with rich lavender silk curtains. He sees the pillows that Marik landed earlier, still staked together on the ground. However, he does not remember that small table in the room. Marik walks towards it and on top is a little glass bottle. He holds it up and reads a tag around it; labeled in cursive writing, _Drink Me!_

 _Pop!_ Marik takes out the cork of the bottle and starts to sniff the milk-like content. His mouth is dry and Marik can't remember the last time he drank something. And as Marik finally gives his excuses, he takes the bottle up his lips. He sips little by little until his pacing turns into gulps. Marik puts the empty bottle down on the table and starts to smack his lips together to critique the taste.

"Eh…I had worst"

Something tuck in the dark corners of Marik's mind is a British voice laughing in the background for reasons Marik doesn't know.

Suddenly, the room starts to move. His body begins to shake as the walls become larger and larger. Soon, he finds himself becoming a tiny pocket-sized Marik. He is confused as to why his clothes shrank with him, but this is a dream, so of course plot holes are bound to happen here. As Marik remembers the door behind him, his eyes glitter as he realizes he can fit below it.

"Oh! I SHALL PASS the door now!"

Marik quickly runs the very far away door. And as he gets ready to crawl down the gap, a voice appears.

"I won't go past it, my brother"

Marik stops and looks up at the source of the sound. An image of his sister Ishizu appears on the gold doorknob of the door.

"Things might not seem safe for you to continue on this path"

Marik stares back at the little gap below the door. He could see the sun's bright rays on the other side…so close.

"Oh, come on Sis! This is my dream! It might be a sexy dream, EVEN! So NO GIRLS ALLOWED!"

"Huh?"

"I-I mean no SISTERS allowed! Yes! Because there's obviously going to be girls in this sexy party! Because I'm TOTALLY straight!"

Ishizu sights and rolls her eyes with a grin, "Right…"

"I'm going inside!"

Or out…either way, Marik crouches down below the door and begins to crawl forwards. Ishizu's voice becomes distant as he moves farther way towards the light.

" _Be safe my brother. For there might not even be a party for you there."_


	2. Chapter 2- Which Path To Take?

Chapter 2- Which Path To Take?

Marik doesn't know what Ishizu meant; this place is all he ever wanted! The bright sun illuminating this never-ending world of wonders, the cool breeze as it greets his hair and dances with the grass below his feet… It is AMAZING! Well, aside from the big hourglass and chess pieces standing very far away. Not to mention, that the clouds and the very weird slopes of the mountains, all sharing a smiley face…

As Marik keeps staring into the distance, he gets reminded of his task as a familiar voice passes by.

"I'm late. I'm late."

Marik runs at the edge of the hill and sees Odion already far away. He follows the servant mouse as he disappears into the forest. Only now, Marik remembers his small stature, when the trees turn out to be three times longer than regular trees.

As he enters the forest, Marik notices a yellow brick path already set on the floor. _Wrong reference, but okay?_ Marik asks as he decides to follow the brick road. He is glad that these trees lost their leafs, letting the Sun brightening his path ahead.

"OOOOOODIONNNNNN! Odion! Where are you? I got some gummy bears! Mint condition!"

While he is set to follow the path, the Egyptian stops to look inside bushes and logs around him.

"Where is he? Do you suppose he could be hiding- Wait, who am I even talking to?"

Marik decides to pick up the pace, now power walking forwards into the leaf covered section of the forest. Only bits of sunlight manage to appear in the gaps between the leaves and branches of this unwelcoming forest. And it does proves to be even more so unwelcoming, when the road ahead is split into two different paths: One going to the left…and one going to the right, both roads leading to a similar looking entrance. Still, Marik wants to find some type of difference between the two, but is then cut short when the bushes on both sides start to shake.

Two beings jump from the bushes and lands acrobatically in front of Marik. They are dressed in weird clothing. Both wearing something similar like twins, but the faces of the owners doesn't match. One of them wears a red beany cap, while the other just has a weird haircut.

It startles Marik when one of the things starts to speak,

"Hehehehe. Stop! Or something."

The other little creature joins in,

"Uhuhuhuhu, yeah. You shall not pass"

Marik stomps his foot on the ground, "Hey! I think I already did that reference! I think!"

"Tough Luck! Choose a path, Fart knocker. Hehehehe"

Already appalled by their manners in an instant, Marik turns around,

"Um…yeah no thanks I'll rather-"

As he looks straight ahead, the path he took is now changed to the two roads. Marik turns his head again, and the two roads appear on his sight. Marik growls, already annoyed that he has to play this game.

"Hey…won't it have made more sense if the Paradox Brothers were here?"

"Hehehe, You don't know what they look like"

"Yeah, so like…we took their jobs or something"

Marik holds his head from falling with his palm. _How could this make any sense?_ Impatient as he is, Marik points at any path that his hand chooses.

"I'll pick the left."

The two Beavis and Butt-head wannabees look at each other strangely. They return their ugly faces at Marik,

"Wait, we haven't given you a riddle yet."

"Don't care, my head hurts, my boots hurts, I'm choosing the left."

"But our song sequence-"

"I'M CHOOSING THE FRIGGING LEFT!"

The two stand aside as Marik mockingly thanks them as he moves forwards. As he gets deeper into the dark deeps of the forest, Marik couldn't still process the predicament that he's in. _This suppose to be a dream…HIS dream! Think of a motorcycle…BOOM! Motorcycle. Think of a sexy nightclub…BOOM! Nightclub. That's what it should be…_

Sadly, this world is not in his control. He can't believe his mind would come up with something stupid like Rex and Weevil as Tweedle Dee and Dumb. And as he would love to have a bicycle or a party...Marik realizes he needs something better than those objects. He is lacking something. Something he can't put his mind to conjure. But even if Marik knew what it is…or who it is…he knows his mind will not create his wish.

 _So he continues walking._

 _Down the path where the darkness resides._


	3. Chapter 3- The Forest Depths

Chapter 3- The Forest Depths

The light from the Sun is completely blocked, yet Marik could feel it was coming closer to the ground, as nighttime settles in. He catches a bit of enduring light very closer on his path, and Marik quickly follows. And as he steps forwards, a song becomes louder and louder.

"Friendship! Friendship! We all love friendship!"

Marik stands in a circle, surrounded by large flowers of different types. They all sing cheerfully, except for the rose. Its high pitch voice is no match with the other flowers. Marik notices right away it is the rose that keeps putting "Friendship" in the lyrics.

The yellow flower catches Marik staring at them. It points at the Egyptian with one of its leafs,

"Hey, everybody! We have a visitor!"

"Yay! We could always use more friends!"

A timid orange flower hides behind the yellow one. It looks at Marik with a scared human-face made of petals. It taps its yellow sibling as she whispers,

"Joey, that flower might be a weed…"

The Yellow flower (Marik wishes to have known the types, instead of calling them out by color) jumps in surprise and protects his sister while keeping an eye on Marik.

"NYAA! You're right! He LOOKS like a weed…someone call an exterminator!"

The Rose smacks Yellow's head,

"Joey! You haven't seen weed in your life! And that's no way to talk to our future friends!"

Marik growls impatient, "I'm no weed, you fool! If I ever be a flower, I would be ten times prettier than ANY of you!"

The Rose turns its head to Marik and smiles, "But you ARE a flower! You just look different than us."

The Rose stops to think and then something made her to giggle with a revelation,

"Oh! You MUST join us!"

Behind Marik, other sets of flowers appear deep in the grass. Their eyes shifts back and forth from the cover of darkness. As the Rose speaks, voices made from the back choir starts to join.

"We will sing Friendship songs…"

"And talk about our day…"

"And draw smiley faces…"

The vines from the back extend below the ground and begin to surround Marik. The flowers become close and closer, not much any space for him to move. The ground feels like its spinning, and all the flowers' head bopping left and right aren't doing much help. Their voices keep repeating their little song, while the strong high-pitched Rose keeps talking,

"We can be friends…"

"Best of friends…"

With one hand, Marik tries to stop the shrilling voices by blocking his ears, and with instinct, another hand went behind his back, as if trying to hold onto something…

"Yes! And we would always forgive each other…"

"And SING! Don't forget sing!"

"Yes! And we will talk about how our friendship will always-"

Marik had enough, and brings out the sharp edge of the Millennium Rod,

"AAAH! NO! GET BACK, YOU FRIENDSHIP DEMONS!"

The rod manages to break out the strongest vines and Marik is set free from their grasps. The plants look over the damages of their friends and Marik tries to run. But the other flowers ahead of him weren't very welcoming, and rely on their voices to catch him,

 _Don't leave…_

 _This is the right place for you…_

 _Stay with us!_

Even if he is miles away from them, he could still hear their voices in his head. The constant annoying voices repeating at him as a broken record. He doesn't think, just running blindly in the forest depths, never looking back. Never addressing how he summoned his Rod. Never noticing it vanished after helping his escape.

The trees became farther apart from each other, letting the moon to look over him in the time of darkness. He wants to wake up; he wants to remember what caused this dream to happen.

His legs suddenly betray him as Marik stops to take large breaths. His hair is a mess of leafs and his dress got entangled so often, Marik accidentally tears it down. Now his dress reaches him all the way up his knees. A good improvement, but he doesn't like how wrinkled and damaged his dress condition is.

 _Frig…_ he whispers under his breath, no longer in the motivation to yell out his thoughts.

As he continues to walk, he could feel a cold air marching through his spine. Marik's instincts take over, as he feels he isn't alone. Someone or something is watching him.

Suddenly, the forest's trees changes colors from blues to purples…getting closer. Marik hears a maniacal laugh around him. A large smile appears and disappears in the darkness, yet his voice stays in one place.

" _Tell me, have you lost your head yet? Heheheheh…HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_


	4. Chapter 4- The Cheshire Kitty

Chapter 4- The Cheshire Kitty

Marik feels the ground shake, as little footprints of the cat appears towards him until it stops midway.

"Love the dress, Ishtar"

Marik hears a tree branch twitch and sees the cat resting on top of it. The creature is full of pure white snow, as its ears are in the shape of batwings. The tail however, looks like it has a face on it as well. The cat keeps grinning its sharp smile,

"I wonder what that says about you…"

Marik growls at the kitty, he tries to look for a rock to throw at him, but luck is not on his side. So he decides on a word duel.

"I didn't choose this dress."

"This is your dream, Marik. Of course you picked it. Just as how you see me as this… _kitty_ with a dragonhead tail. Freud would have his time of his life on this."

"THIS WHOLE PLACE IS A FREUDIAN-DRIVEN-NIGHTMARE!"

The Kitty curls his body as he pulls its tummy up for laughing,

"Hahahaha! Yes…I like you~"

Marik sighs and crosses his arms. He's been loosing his mind in the forest, and he is determined to turn the tables around. _It's time to have the upper hand._

Marik grins at the Cheshire,

"Well, then why don't you come closer?"

Bakura didn't expected for the Egyptian to play along, and is lost in his words. His script has been disrupted and he needs to recover.

"I-I would, but…I _like_ the view from here."

The two have switched roles and Marik is now the grinning fool,

"You can't stare at my ass if you're THAT high up-"

"SHUT UP, MARIK! I'M SUPPOSE TO BE THE CHESHIRE!"

"Well, you're not doing a very good job at it…"

The tail end hisses at Marik as the kitty growls in defeat. _Finally, Marik found the company he needs, and is someone that won't drive him mad!_

The kitty is silent as his body once again becomes one with the darkness, and Marik can't help but to taunt some more,

"Aw, Fluffy! Please come back! I promise to be more cooperative!"

The kitty growls in the darkness, and the body emerges again on Marik's shoulders.

"You better be."

Marik gets a closer look at his companion, and something of his voice and mannerism sparks his memories.

"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

The Cheshire shrugs, "I don't know. Most people mistake me as a handsome Egyptian Japanese British guy sometimes."

"Yeah, that's probably…wait…are you…purring?"

The kitty is cuddling his fluffy head against the back of Marik's neck, but is then caught by his own doing. Kitty is frozen in place as he finds a clever excuse of his body's misbehavior,

"N-noooo"

Bakura quickly disappears and reappears on his tree. He starts to lick his little paw and scratching one of his fluffy ears. He hopes maybe that'll do the trick from getting that red blush off his kitty face.

"If you're looking for that Bald Mouse, I suggest you visit the Mad Hatter."

The tail points to his right, as the path of trees shines in blues. Marik looks at the road ahead, feeling very skeptical about the whole thing.

"Mad Hatter…yeah, I don't think I can follow a guy named Mad."

"Well then, Marik…the March Hare is on the left."

"Yeah, that sounds better-"

"They're both mad."

"FRIG! I won't have a conversation with ANY mad people!"

Bakura resumes his menacingly laugh and his tail joins in the fun as well.

"Everyone is a little mad sometimes, Marik! Some more than others…but the truth still remains…we are ALL mad here!"

As the Cheshire laughs in the background, Marik has no choice but to follow the light-show of trees that the cat made for him.

 _A Mad world…with a person naming himself MAD. Yes, how could this not be a good idea?_

As the smile of the cat's face replaces the shape of the moon, Marik could still hear its calm assured voice from his back. The wind around him carries the Cheshire's song as it moves through the forest.

 _When I was just a kitten,_

 _They'd said I'd be a gem_

 _But now that I'm a Cheshire cat_

 _It's odd…_

 _How odd…I am._


	5. Chapter 5- A Mad Tea Party

A Mad Tea Party

As he walks towards a stone path leading to a bush entrance, Marik hears whistles of different tones. The air smells of something rather sweet, as a trail of smoke touches Marik's nose. The smell is of biscuits, with other exotic smells, that the boy can't help but to be lured by it. Suddenly, the voices ahead come close, as they sing:

 _A very merry unbirthday to me!_

 _To who?_

 _To ME!_

 _Oh great…_

Luckily, it seems to Marik that one of the voices doesn't feel like singing like its other cheerful partner. As he passes a little wooden door, he sees a large table with empty rows of chairs, not occupied by any being. Yet, from very far away there are two figures moving their cup of tea back and forth. Marik looks at the table and his stomach growls of all the delicious treats, taunting him.

Marik looks around for which seat will come to his liking, and chooses a really fancy one on his left. As he sets up his magnificent buttocks on the rich cushion of the seat, a voice yells from afar.

"NO ROOM! NO ROOM! NO ROOM!"

The two figures chase him and Marik tries to run away by circling to the other side of the table. The two split their ways and Marik gets surrounded. He sees a man with rabbit ears, and his long silver hair manages to hide one of his eyes. The other male is harder to describe. It was Marik…yet everything about him is sharper: His eyes, his face, and even his hair would be able to stab anything. He wears a dark purple hat, which Marik assumes he is the Mad Hatter and the other must be the March Hare…

Marik tries to not stay for long, "Fine, then! If there's no room for Marik, then I'll just simply leave!"

As he steps towards the sweet darkness to eat him for good, his doppelganger blocks his path. It creeps Marik how this copy of himself hasn't say anything to him. He hopes its voice is not as sexy as his.

But before the Mad Hatter speaks, the Hare starts to push a chair at Marik and guides him to the tables,

"Ooooh! We don't really have guests here! Normally they would just run away!"

The Mad Hatter rests his chin on the table, and gives him a sly smile, "Hehehe, I wonder why that is…"

Marik tries to look away at the Hatter and keeps his conversation with the colorful rabbit,

"But you said there's no room"

"There IS no room! We're in a garden, my boy! Hardly fitting to be call a room!"

"Um…okay?"

Marik is pushed to the end of the table, where the March Hare and the Mad Hatter sit close. The Hare starts to strap Marik in his chair, "I love your dress, my boy!" The Mad Hatter simply smiles, "I knew we would look good in it."

Marik becomes furious, not paying attention that he has been strapped down on his chair,

"Shut Up! We don't! I mean…I don't! I'm suppose to show of my midriff, I can't do that with a frigging dress on!"

The Mad Hatter still keeps his devious smile, "Then you could have taken it off then, my dear~".

"I'm not a frigging animal…"

Yami Marik stands from his throne and slides up to Marik. He puts his two sharp fingers and raises Marik's chin up high,

"Yes...you _are._ "

The Hare coughs to try to change the subject, "Oh! I know what we could do!" The rabbit claps his hand 3 times and in a blink, Marik is wearing a newer dress. It is less heavy and shows Marik's midriff, yet the skirt is still reaching his knees. Nonetheless, the Hare squeals at his master work,

"Yes! Now this party can get started!"

Marik looks around, but doesn't see any banners or words to suggest what kind of celebration it is. The Hatter returns back to his throne, mumbling to himself how the Hare interrupted him.

Even if he hates both, Marik feels the Hare is easier to talk to than the weird clone of himself,

"Party of what?"

The Rabbit proudly answers as the Mad Hatter scoops for a slice of pizza,

"Why…celebrating our unbirthdays!"

Marik is still confused, and unable to think of another follow up questions. The Other Marik takes a sip of his cup and finally answers to the lost child,

"Would you rather celebrate your Birthday?"

Marik bits his lips; it was hardly something he thinks about…or rather something he tries not to think any further. The Other Him starts to build up a tower of empty cups and silverware as he continues to speak,

"Tell me, Binky Boy: Why do we need one day of year that reminds up of our mortality?"

The cups begin to shake and the mountain collapses. Yami Marik curses at his failed tower and at his finger, which got cut with blood. He looks at Marik now, still keeping his dangerous smile at him. The Hatter raises his blood-dripping finger and starts to lick it. _Evilly-licking it._

"Unbirthdays celebrates the opposite! It reminds us to do anything! Be free from anything! To do what we want! Climb a mountain! Ride a motorcycle! STAB SOME PEOPLE!"

"Huh?" Marik asks as the March Hare whispers to ignore that last part. As Yami Marik stops his little speech, he slips a cup of tea in his mouth. His tongue rejects the sour taste of the liquid.

"Blah! This tea is bitter!"

The Mad Hatter holds up a little bell from his suit pocket and rings it 3 times. From the cup of tea, a little white mouse appears and quickly runs up to his master holding a sugar cube.

"Good day! Cheerio! Is there something you need?"

Yami Marik smiles at the British little mouse and hold him up high from its stripped shirt with two of his fingers. He holds up the tea on the other hand,

"Hello! Tea Biscuits! Give me some sugar!"

Instead of dropping the cube on the cup, Ryou the dormouse smooches the Hatter on his cheek. Yami Marik blushes and slams his fists on the table, sending the mouse running to his hiding place. Still, the little mouse smiles at his small victory against the Hatter, who curses at him from far away,

"Not like that!"

The Hatter grunts something within his breath, and Marik tries to stand up from his chair in surprise,

"Oh no, this BETTER not become a Murdershipping fic! This is suppose to be my dream, you know!"

"…Your dream?"

The candles of the table shut down, and the teacups begin to shake on their own. The Hare stands in place with no care, as he drinks his fabulous red wine and reading his comics. Yami Marik's laugh echoes across the table,

"You got it all wrong…this is MY dream…this is OUR dream…"

"You're not me…I don't know who you are!"

"Why…I can't believe you forgot about me. I'm hurt!"

That was obviously sarcasm, but as the Hatter climbs up the table and walks forwards to Marik, he begins to shake from fear. Every step he takes, he purposely breaks cups and plates on his path.

"Don't you remember your childhood friend: Melvin? We used to play Patty Cake in the Tombs, remember?"

The creature is getting closer, and he pulls out a similar Millennium Rod. Marik struggles to get out, but the straps on the chair are too tight,

"Nope! Not remember anything! I want to wake up now!"

Melvin introduces the sharp edge of the Rod as it shines up to Marik's throat.

"I'll make you remember…"

The tip of the rod starts to burn and Marik's breathing stops, just so his neck won't be able to make contact. Yami Marik grins widely as he teases little taps onto Marik's skin. Suddenly, a voice from above interrupts the party.

"Hello, Melvin!"

Melvin quickly shifts his head back and sees the Cheshire Cat very close to the sugar jar. The Kitty smiles at the Hatter and then to Marik,

"Nice seeing you fail, Marik! Guess you need an extra paw…"

Bakura holds up his paw almost ready to open the jar, taunting the party host. The Mad Hatter gives him a death stare, and tries his best not to pull out his eyeballs from his face.

"Bitch, don't you dare…"

"Sorry, I'm a cat."

Bakura laughs and opens the jar with one Swoosh! He looks inside and sees the little mouse in delight.

"Hello my dear Host! I'm back~"

The mouse quickly jumps from the jar and starts to run blindly around the table.

"CAT! CAT! HELP! HE'S BACK! HELP!"

Yami Marik quickly sets aside his rod and tries to catch his little pet.

"Frig! GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE- HEY RABBIT! I COULD USE A HAND!"

The March Hare flips the pages of his book, and drinks his tea with a tower of sugar. Ryou crashes against the chocolate cake as Yami Marik jumps to catch him, both now covered in cake bits.

As the two idiots run around, Bakura appears in front of Marik and helps him strap down.

"Run."

Marik nods and quickly leaves the party. Yami Marik finally catches his mouse and gives him a piece of creampuff. The little mouse looks over it and smiles as he takes a large bite out of the sweet treat.

"Grr, I could kill you if it wasn't your Unbirthday today…"

"You know you love me!"

The March Hare coughs and points at the exit, "Our little visitor just left…"

"EEFFF! Let's go after him then!"

"I would love to, but the Spice Girls movie is up in 4 minutes."

"…I hate you."

Yami Marik puts Ryou in his pocket and starts to walk to the exit. He stops and turns again at the rabbit,

"Make sure to record that."


	6. Chapter 6- Who Are You?

Chapter 6: Who Are You?

"You sure he went this way?"

"Don't you trust me?"

Melvin rolls his eyes as Ryou rests his little body on the soft nest of hair. Melvin keeps moving at the direction from where the mouse points.

"You better be right, cinnamon. Or I'll cut your cute little neck"

Ryou covers his mouth with both hands in shock, as a way to ridicule his threats.

"Oh dear, this will be like the 6th neck-cutting you threatened me! I'm sorry I only have one!"

"Grrr, stop contradicting! It doesn't suit you."

After a few giggles, Ryou quickly pulls a chunk of Melvin's hair, causing the male to stop on command. Melvin growls to threaten the rodent again, but stops as he catches Ryou staring at something.

"What's that?"

The Mad Melvin turns to the direction and finds a rollercoaster running in the far distance. His whole face lit up like a thousand suns,

"Shit, we have a theme park in here?! Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"You killed them before they got the chance to."

"Oh, right…"

As the Hatter chuckles at the sweet memories of murder, Melvin walks towards the theme park. They find a dark silhouette of a very large creature sitting on what it could probably be pile of rocks.

It is not.

The piles of rock morphed as a large bag of money, surrounded by other bags of money. As the two look up at the silhouette, they find a large and fat blue dragon resting his body on top of the cash hill. Just on the other side of the being, is the blocked entrance to the park. The figure speaks in a loud echo voice,

"Who. Are. You?"

With better inspections, the figure is not a dragon…but a man in a dragon costume. More specifically…an onesie, with a large zipper on his neck. The Dragon Man repeats his words,

"Who. Are. You?"

The Hatter proudly points at himself with a grin, "I'm Melvin. Heard of me?"

The man laughs in mockery, "Please, as if you're someone important. Why don't you get back to your little tea party, and come back when you're someone worth my time?"

Melvin's fists began to shake, and Ryou could feel the tension with his vessel of transportation. The little mouse climbs down from Melvin's head and moves to his shoulder. Melvin keeps his death-threatening eyes on the guard,

"I AM someone."

"Yeah? Then who?"

"Melvin~"

"Nope. Not on the list."

"I AM GOING TO THAT PARK, RICH BOY!"

Yami Marik holds up his rod and starts to climb the mountain of cash, as Kaiba laughs at his attempt. He stabs money after money, as he gets closer to his future victim. Yet, the dragon obsessed guy keeps taunting the Hatter,

"How? You're not on the list! Unless that's not your name…"

Ryou whispers at the Hatter's ear as his whiskers tickles "Maybe you have to give your middle or last name?"

"NO!" Melvin erupts with rage, "It's Melvin! It's just Melvin! It always has been Melvin!"

Yami Marik is just a few feet closer to his victim, but the dragon man still laughs as he conjures up a diamond-like force field around him. It doesn't matter to Melvin, seeing as he keeps stabbing it for the 8th time and becoming more and more tired.

The little mouse cuddles Melvin's neck for comfort, "You can't kill a diamond, Melvin".

The disappointed Hatter whines,

"But he's being mean, creampuff~!"

"I'm sure Marik's not there. We should probably try the other way."

Melvin tries another stab at the diamond and his arm drops as dead weight. He tries not to make eye contact with the mouse, "…I hate it when you're right".

The little mouse gives his sweetest smile at the Hatter, which he returns in a short quick matter. Melvin quickly changes his face to disappointment, as he turns around to leave.

"I wanted to ride the rollercoaster…"

"I know Melvin…I know."

As Melvin walks away from the promised funland, a cat looks over at the scene. He disappears and reappears on a path that has been split into two. One is leading up to the park, which the cat knew his friend isn't there.

 _That only leaves…_

The other route…far in the distance, the Cheshire Cat could see over the large labyrinth of grass that leads up to a castle. Bakura curses under his breath, as he has forgotten to tell Marik about what route to take. Now Marik is closer to the castle…where the King lives.

The Cheshire Cat disintegrates from the scene and puts up his signature smile before disappearing completely. While it may be dangerous, he can't help but to be excited how this would play out for the golden boy. So the cat laughs…as he sings a little song before leaving.


	7. Chapter 7- Heart of The Cards

Chapter 7- Heart of The Cards

After going through millions of grass barriers (literally), Marik finally reaches the end of the labyrinth. There's still grass below his feet, but at least the walls have finally seized. Marik analyzes his surroundings and notices he is standing in a courtyard of a large castle far in the distance. The grass is separated by light and dark greens, almost resembling a chessboard.

However, something else took away the attention of the Egyptian, as he sees two Duel Monster cards in the size of humans. The cards didn't hold any faces, but rather stick hands and feet. The cards are both holding brushes and a can of sparkly paint, and below them is a little fuzzball.

"Kuri! Kuri! Kuri!" The little creature squeaks.

With one swoosh of paint, the Kuriboh magically turns into a teal color. The little creature looks at himself and begins to scream in delight. Marik steps in a little closer,

"Um…why are you painting Kuribohs?"

The two cards turn to the boy,

"People stopped buying Kuribohs…"

"So we paint them a different color! Now they buy new Kuribohs!"

The two cards walk up to the next Kuriboh, and Marik curiously follows,

"So you just paint them? And people buy that shit?"

The Kuriboh turns into a new flashy red color and his eyes smiles in delight. The card responds,

"Yeah! Just a change in color and they won't even know it's the same Kuriboh!"

The cards lend out an extra brush and bucket of paint, "Here, why don't you try it?"

Marik was a bit hesitant at first, but the cards feel very welcoming and less crazier than any character he came across. Marik nodded at them and grabs the items. They both walk to find the nearest Kuriboh in sight. They found one, growling in a corner on the entrance of the labyrinth.

"Ohh, this one is very angry…"

"A change of color, and he'll be happy and new!"

Marik stares at the angry Kuriboh, who turns around to stare back. Marik aims the brush, his hand almost shaking,

"You better not have rabies…"

The Kuriboh growls as Marik takes another step forwards. And with one touch, the Kuriboh turns into Marik's favorite lavender color.

"Ha! I did it! My Skill-"

"ROAR!"

The little lavender Kuriboh launches into the air and tries to scratch its opponent. Marik and the cards dodge the furball, but the paint buckets fall onto the grass. The angry Kuriboh flees from the scene and enters into the bushes of the labyrinth. The cards stare at the maze,

"Guess the paint wasn't enough."

"WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE!?"

A booming voice in the distance yells as its shadow comes closer. The painted Kuribohs run away from a golden carriage as other cards are dragging it above their um… heads. The guards let down the carriage and a male appears between its silk curtains. He was Egyptian, like Marik, only his hair defies the laws of gravity and the natural colors of hair!

One of the guards searches inside the carriage and holds down a golden Kuriboh with a little red bow. The Pharaoh walks towards Marik and the two cards, dramatically staring at the bucket of paint below his feet. Marik is confused and doesn't know if he should be afraid or not. Yet as he looks at his card companions, they are hugging each other as their flat bodies tremble in fear.

Finally, the Pharaoh speaks and his voice is much quieter, yet still sounding menacing,

"Tell me…have you've been…painting Kuribohs?"

The cards keep shaking and their voices only manage to whimper. The pharaoh keeps staring at them, his eyes turning almost hot red. Finally, one of the cards stands up and points at Marik,

"I-It was that boy, your Sexiness! He forced us to do it!"

Marik quickly snaps back at the betrayer, "I DID NOT!"

"SILENCE!"

The three quickly becomes quiet and turns back to the position of interrogation. The Pharaoh claps two times, causing the guards to pick up a spray bottle and presenting it on top of a fancy pillow cushion. The King takes it without looking and walks towards the guard with his prize pet.

"Kuri! Kuri! Kuri!" the pet squeals in delight at his master's presence.

The act isn't mutual, as the King stares at the creature and then at his hand, as he's getting ready to push the handle of the bottle. Suddenly, the water is sprayed at the Kuriboh and the golden paint washes down and reveals a fluffy brown creature.

The Pharaoh chuckles as his expression is hidden from the three victims,

"Hehehe, you guys…gave me a…fake gold Kuriboh…"

The male keeps chuckling, now turning into a laugh, which manages to spread to the two card painters.

Suddenly, the Pharaoh turns around and points at the cards. His forehead shines with a glowing eye as he shouts, "MIND CRUSH!"

The two cards melt in a fire and Marik jumps at shock as he sees them turning into a black puddle.

"HOLY FRIGGING FRIG FRIG! WHAT THE FRIGGING EFFF IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

The pharaoh keeps laughing and points at the other male,

"Don't worry, you'll be paying a different punishment! A sort of game, really."

"A game? I guess that's okay-"

"A COURT Game! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"…..What?"


	8. Chapter 8- Court Case

Chapter 8- Court Case

"Welcome! I am…the Pharaoh of Hearts!"

The crowd of cards cheers as they celebrate their king standing on the judge podium. Marik is in the center of the room, with his own little table surrounded by spear-wearing guards. The Pharaoh keeps waving back at his followers until his arm becomes tired,

"Yes, yes. Thank you! I am great!"

Next to the king's podium stands a similar yet, lower than his. The person sitting at this table has similar qualities as the king. Yet, his height is shorter, his skin paler, but his hair still stands ridiculously the same. The soft eyes of the doppelganger gaze at the King with embarrassment.

"Pharaoh, please don't boast."

"Boasting comes with the job, Yugi! Embrace it!"

One of the guards step forwards and sounds the horn to begin the event. The pharaoh clears his throat and holds up a scroll. The paper unrolls as the king reads the first lines.

"Marik Sebastian Ishtar the Third…you are here because you have committed a series of crimes. This court will addres-"

"I did NOT tell them to color a Kuriboh! I swear!"

The crowd burst into laughter and making Marik even more confused at the situation. Finally after a few tears of enjoyment, the king rests his arms against the edge of the podium,

"Oh, Marik…you're not here because you painted a Kuriboh!"

"It's not?"

"Oh, no. It's _way_ worst."

Yugi sighs and pulls the King's robe for his attention, "Pharaoh, stop torturing the guilty and tell him already."

"Oh, fine. You're no fun."

The King's eyes scan through the scroll a second time.

"Marik, through your life, you have committed these of the following: Murdered your father, killed a few of your ghouls by your Millennium Rod (or not feeding them right), killed a Gym teacher, killed the Chihuahua Movie Director, Writers, Animators..."

Yugi murmurs, "…They had writers?" as the pharaoh stops his reading and responds to his partner, "Yes, but I'm more surprise that they got more than one person working on it."

Marik slams on the table, not really listening to their little conversation.

"I did not do that! I didn't murder anybody!" Marik pauses, "Well…not yet anyways."

The Pharaoh keeps his poker face and grins at the accused, "You did not do these? Is that what you're claiming?"

"Yes! I certainty did not killed this people! I can't even murder that spider living in my bathroom! I just take over the minds of miserable people named Steve… and then they become my slaves! That's it!"

Yugi laughs, "Well…that's not all what our eye witness says."

The room pauses. Different names floats around the court, trying to guess the identity of the witness. All the whispers spread around like bees and Marik can't catch a single comprehensive word from the cluster of voices.

"Bring him in!"

The room becomes engulfed with fear and sweat, as the sound of wheels gets closer to the room. Suddenly, two cards bring out Melvin strapped on a cart. He has a mussel over his mouth and is wearing a straight jacket like Hannibal Lector.

The cards do the unthinkable and release the mussel from Melvin. The creature moves his jaws left and right as he pops his cheekbones back in place. He looks up at Marik and grins at the familiar sight,

"Hello, me! Nice to see me again!"

The cards began to yell out of control, which forces Yugi to knock his wooden hammer against the podium.

"Order! Order!"

As soon as the crowd settles down, the Pharaoh leans over to the witness,

"So! Melvin…is it true that Marik has done these things?"

"Hehehe, yesss. He's a raving lunatic."

Marik slams his hands on the table one more time, "No! YOU'RE the crazy one! Not me!"

Yugi knocks on the hammer again, "Order! Order!"

That hammer must have been enchanted with magic, since Marik can't help but to be silent and follow orders. Or maybe it was something else, but Marik can't admit he's feeling scared.

Yugi continues, "As we come to find out, you and Melvin are both guilty."

"But I didn't! He-"

The Pharaoh interrupts, "You took these actions you committed and blamed it all on another you!"

Marik is trying to find a comeback or any arguments, but his voice trembles and his body can't deny the King's words,

"M-maybe but-"

"You put aside your own duties as a Tomb Keeper, and had deny your actions of the murder of-"

"I DIDN'T KILL MY FATHER!"

His words echoes around the room as the people are in shock. The room is silent as the cards all turn their faces towards the King. He lets out a long breath of air before he continues to speak.

"Marik Ishtar…" The king pauses for a brief second, "…you will face a horrible punishment".

The figures around Marik and Melvin start to glitch. Their shapes turning into purple shadows of his other self's reflection. The images quickly return back to their roles. Melvin grins and starts to quietly chuckle at the world Marik has created for himself.

 _Click Click!_ The straps of Melvin open up one by one, as his straight jacket disintegrates in the air like ashes. The Other Marik stands on the floor, popping his knuckles, and starts stretching his arms.

The fake Pharaoh clears his throat,

"You will become one with Melvin. And you will accept ALL that you did."

"N-No waitwaitwait! OBJECTION! I…I-I can call a witness! Um…break time? Recess?"

"There aren't any."

As Melvin creepily steps forwards, Marik moves back. Yet, as his back feels a cold sharpness, he turns around to see the guards pointing their spears. There's nowhere to go, and Marik is force to watch his Other Self lurching closer.

"Let's be together again, Marik! Just like old times!" Melvin stops, "Oh! How about I take us over this time? It is only fair…"

"No! This is madness! I wanna wake up now!"

The room's ceiling begins to crumble as the darkness pushes down. The laugh of Melvin takes the room hostage as the cards whispers the words _guilty_ around him. Marik falls down, hugging his knees, as there's nowhere else to go. He shields his eyes as he hopes for the nightmare to be over. But he's still there, still hearing the voices accusing him, the dark reflection laughing and taunting him, and the darkness consuming him…

 _ZZZZZT!_

Suddenly, Marik hears a static beep, which makes him to stand up and look around. The world looks as if someone must have pushed the pause button. The figures are standing there, in their most recent position. They glitch at random times, as the buzz keeps playing endlessly through the stage.

Finally, a different noise echoes above the room carrying a familiar tone,

 _Check your pocket._

Marik raises his head at the ceiling, "Huh?"

There's no one; no vessel of where the voice reside. Still, Marik starts to search through his dress. He digs around, but there is nothing but air. It is empty, just as how hope left his body. He wants the nightmare to be over. Even if it means being stabbed by cards and by Melvin, he just wants the dream to end.

"There's nothing in there…"

 _Concentrate! This is a dream. Think of it. Call on it. Think of an item that will… Help. You. Get. Out!_

Marik does what the voice commands and starts to concentrate, letting his mind into focus. He starts to feel his pocket getting bigger as the image in his head becomes clearer. The boy quickly takes the object out before it could ruin the fabric.

And there it is…Marik holds the item up in the air, watching how familiar it feels between his fingers. The cold surface vibrating as it shines with no dependency of light for it to reflect so beautifully on his hands.

His eyes are wide and in shock, as he tries to call on the name of the object through a small whisper,

"The Millennium Ring…"


	9. Chapter 9- The Escape

The Escape

"The Millennium Ring…"

As Marik conjures its name, one of the little arrow pieces starts to point at the exit door of the courthouse. The Cheshire Cat's voice echoes one last time around the room.

 _You have 10 seconds before this world resets._

And Marik runs.

He rushes towards the door. Every character he goes through, glitches as mere holographic images. As Marik kicks the door open, the light from the sun gleams strongly on his eyes. He shields his face with both arms as his eyes adjust to the brightness. The ring starts to vibrate for the boy's attention, and Marik holds it up with his hand. The middle arrow keeps pointing forwards and Marik quickly follows its direction.

The ten seconds are out, and the whole group of cards is following behind. Marik quickly sees two guards straight ahead. His heart is beating faster, his body reacting on pure instinct. He rapidly slides down, dodging their spears aiming for his chest, and kicks one of the cards in his way. Before the other could react to another strike, Marik calls out his Rod and slashes the card into two.

He holds up the ring again, and the arrow changes directions to the left. Behind Marik, the voice of the Pharaoh resonates as the world shakes on his command.

"GET BACK HERE! GUARDS!"

The cards clusters themselves together until forming into a flood, as they are getting closer to swallow the boy whole. Marik keeps running, following the ring's direction. His heart races rapidly and his breathing becomes out of synch. He keeps yelling inside his head,

"Wake up, Marik! Wake the frig UP!"

He soon realizes yelling isn't helping, and it is making him getting even more tired of running. The sky and the world around him is now engulf with black and thunderous clouds. The shapes of his enemies are nothing but dark entities, as they merge to become even bigger.

Suddenly, all the arrows of the ring began to tremble, and the centerpiece creates a beam of light forwards. The light points at the sky and manages to summon a black rectangle exit from far away. And Marik knew it is the only way out of this nightmare.

"GUARDS! DON'T LET HIM IN THE PORTAL!"

Marik tries to keep running, but his tight boots and heavy dress are giving him a disadvantage. And as he sees from far away, he notices that he's getting closer to the end of the cliff, as the portal is still out of reach. Marik knows a faith jump won't work with the weight he has on the dress.

So he concentrates again…just how the Cheshire said: This is a dream. He needs to concentrate. He closes his eyes, still running to the hill. His enemies still determine to catch him. The world breaking into darkness as the sun turns into a glowing eye. The voice of the Pharaoh is no more, but changed into his other self's voice.

Yet Marik closes his eyes, the world not in his mind. There is nothing but a black void of emptiness and no existence of sound around him. And then…. _POOF!_

Marik is wearing his original clothes! His favorite purple top! His shoes! His even darker purple tight pants…it is a perfect fit!

And with one last step off the cliff, Marik jumps for it. Swinging his body forwards as his arms try to reach to the door. His fingers manage to hold on to the bottom of the portal, and Marik sighs in relief.

Suddenly, the world feels like it is shifting, causing the plane around him to turn upside down except himself. So now, Marik is falling down inside the portal, and everything becomes dark.

….

"Where…"

Marik is in the center of a void. It sort of feels déjà vu to him; almost as if this was the tunnel that he had fallen off from the beginning. His body seems to be floating upwards, yet he cannot see the end of the tunnel. Screens begin to appear around him, showing him different scenes that took place in his dream. Pieces of the world of madness floats down to the hole: the magic potion, cushions, teacups, even the little purple Kuriboh gently falls down to the other end of the tunnel.

A voice above Marik echoes as it begins to descend,

"I'm late…"

Marik catches the source of the voice, as its owner is now on eye-level with the boy. It's Odion, in his little mouse costume that is falling down. Marik is pleased to see him, only to cross his arms angrily as he remembers how everything started because he decided to follow him.

"Yes. Yes. We know you're late! Late for what anyways?"

The floating mouse seems to not notice Marik, as he holds up the clock into his arms with care. Marik notices the glass part of the clock is broken, and its little arms are stuck on repeating the same two numbers back and forth. The mouse repeats his words again,

"I was too late."

"Hehehe, what? The Gummy Bear Convention?"

"I was too late…to save you."

"Huh?"

The force of the tunnel below them causes to absorb the mouse quicker. Odion is then sweep away as he goes into the darkness. And before Marik could try to reach his arm to catch him, it was too late.

"Wait! Odion! What did you mean-"

The tunnel begins to shake once again, and decides to pull Marik up even faster. Everywhere he turns, Marik sees different episodes of not only his dreams, but also his time in Battle City. Then Marik realizes, that the screens are moving from the most recent memories to his old ones…

"Nononnonno, You better not play that!"

The screens stop to the scene of where Marik was a kid, living in the Tomb. Marik shakes one of his fists in the air as if he's holding onto the rod again,

"I command you screens to stop playing! This isn't even a good episode!"

And before Marik could persuade the screens to change the channel to an episode of Star Trek, it changes onto a particular scene that causes Marik to shields his eyes on instinct.

The voices are so… _exact_. The scent of old books and scrolls, the candles, the heat of the torches, the coldness of his body feeling the slab as his body is strapped-

Marik holds his hands behinds his head, trying to block the sounds. He can't make them stop. It is all in his mind, and he can hear the screams as they pierce through his head.

"Stop it! No!"

The screens do not stop and they begin to loop over and over again. Marik is in the center of it all, holding his legs until he is in a shape of a ball. His eyes still covered from ever looking at the screens. But this is his mind. Everything that he has been through: this dream, this experience, it was all created by him. This is what it showed him. This is what he made him see.

…

 _Wake up, Marik._

The voices stop, and finally Marik opens his eyes. The screens are now in a white glow around him, and he has stopped floating upwards. But that doesn't matter to Marik, as he stares in shock to the figure in front of him. He keeps staring at him; at his voice, his face, his eyes, and Marik can't still process as to how or why he is doing here. The figure speaks without waiting for the boy's response,

"I don't know what this sort of display is this, but I don't really care to ask."

It is Bakura. The REAL Bakura. The human, non-furry-persona version of Bakura. And Marik is still suspicious if this is just another horrible dream twist ending.

"Bakura? Is…is it really you?"

The figure scuffs, annoyed at this remark,

"Of course it's me, you buggering idiot!"

Marik floats closer to the being. Both bodies are shining with light, as it contrasts to the darkness of the tunnel of memories. Marik finally convinces himself that this is his Bakura, yet he's still confused about everything,

"What are you doing here?"

Bakura sighs and looks away. He crosses his arms as he tries to piece together the words to say next,

"You were asleep. And I thought this was a perfect opportunity to tell you something important."

"Why not in person then?"

Bakura pause as he searches around him, "…They might be watching."

Marik is still confused, his last memories still settling in. Still recovering from the moment of the screamings. Bakura is puzzled as to why Marik is looking away. He's not doing any jokes, or even calling him in one of his many cute nicknames in which he despises. Inpatient as he is, Bakura continues to carry the conversation,

"My ring is telling me there's someone out there. Planning to cancel our show."

Marik's face suddenly lifts up. He remembers that they just entered the finals of Battle City. They were not playing bingo! They are in a tournament! Playing to win the Godcards! The Millennium Items! Stealing to be the main characters of the show!

"WHAT? We have to stop them!"

As Marik tries to swim upwards, Bakura grabs his arm and anchors him back,

"No Marik. I still don't know who is responsible for this."

Bakura becomes vigilant again, staying in alert.

"We must catch him on the act. Pretend I didn't tell you any of this when you wake up, got it?"

Marik nods and Bakura begin to float upwards. Marik quickly stops him by holding on to his legs with both arms hugging it tightly.

"HEY YOU FOOL! I don't know if you notice, but I can't wake the frig up!"

Bakura stares at the Egyptian as he descends, "This is your dream, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah, but I'm having some issues lately and…" Marik sheepishly smiles at the thief, hoping his charms will be enough to convince him, "I need a bit of your assistance?"

Bakura gives a purposely-long sigh, as he was used to always come to his rescue.

"You're pathetic. Fine, I'll wake you up." He pauses and begins to grins at Marik, "But you may not like my method."

Marik clutches his fists, "I'll do about ANYTHING to wake me up from this hell!"

Bakura keeps his smile wide as he puts his hands on top of Marik's shoulders, "Don't say I didn't warned you…"

Marik doesn't understand what is making his partner being in a giggling mood. It took him a minute for the thief to switch back to his serious self again.

Bakura's face starts to move steadily towards Marik. Their faces only a few inches to each other, their lips almost so close…and before their lips could make sweet contact, Bakura lowers Marik down and kisses his forehead instead.

It feels… _cold_ , almost as if the kiss isn't even there. But it seems to be working since the whole place around them begins to chip away, leaving them in a void of whiteness. And as their bodies begin to disintegrate from their feet up to their bodies, Marik could feel a gently ghostly pressure on his lips…

The void consumes them; Marik can no longer see anyone, as his eye is the last thing to leave this place of emptiness.

 _Marik…Marik…_

 _Wake up._

 _Wake up._


	10. Chapter 10- Be Marik

Be Marik

"Wake the BLOODY HELL UP, MARIK!"

Marik's eyes flutter slowly as his eyes tries to unblur his surroundings. Bakura is a few inches away from the boy's head, his body still standing on the side of the bed. Marik is still dazed and his nightmare caused his body to sweat and to be out of breath. Still, Marik manages to whisper a name to his partner in crime,

"Bakura…"

The thief looks at this display and his whole face flushes uncontrollably with red. Bakura quickly jumps out of the bed and backs up to the wall. He tries to play it out cool by resting his shoulders down and look away,

"We got a job to do, Marik. Remember?"

Marik finally sits up from his bed and blinks repeatedly to make himself wake up. He rests his palm on his forehead as he feels a headache coming up,

"What happened?"

"You felt down and landed on your Rod. Luckily, no one saw it, but I think its power must have made you delusional…"

"Really?"

"You kept quoting Kevin Spacey before you collapsed."

"Ooooooh…"

Bakura closes his eyes and smirks, "Maybe you shouldn't hide the Rod behind you next time."

"Oh, it's fine Bakura. If it happened once, it can never happen again, right?"

Bakura chuckles as he turns to the door. Marik starts to put his legs to make contact with the floor. He gives it a second for them to be at the right balance before he decides to stand up.

A voice in the intercom interrupts,

 _The Duel with Joey Wheeler and Marik Ishtar is about to begin._

"Grr, we're late" Bakura grunts as he slides the metal door to open. "Your bodyguard is dueling Yugi's mutt. You don't want to miss this."

"What about you?"

"I'm asleep in the Emergency Room, remember? I'll be down here looking for who is behind all this."

A voice in the back of Marik's mind starts to laugh. Marik quickly tries to block it from reaching his head, "Oh…right."

Bakura keeps staring at Marik for a long time. He knows something is different from his partner. There is no bright annoying teen that likes to listen to Lady Gaga or stating about his sexiness. Instead, his head is looking down, and his hands holding onto the covers on his side. It is odd for Bakura…he wants to say anything! But what? He doesn't know about these things. And he knows that Marik knows that super evil villains don't express their feelings to one another. He isn't even supposed to work along side anybody! So how would he know how to handle this?

"Bakura?"

The thief wakes up from his mind and looks back at Marik, who is waiting for him to respond. Marik has two of his fingers floating close to his lips, remembering the pressure he felt before waking up.

"You…didn't gave me a Sleep Beauty Kiss when I was sleeping, did you?"

Bakura's batwing hairs rise up as his body starts to shake. He immediately coughs as he tries to recover for an excuse. He turns his body up the door again as he's about to leave.

"N-No, I did not gave you a Sleeping Beauty Kiss."

Surprisingly, Marik chuckles at the obvious lie as he starts to walk to the door as well,

"Good, because I'm not gay."

The way he said that line was different. He is smiling, weak from the nightmare, but genuinely trying his best to smile. Bakura closes his eyes and smirks back,

"Yes, I know."

He leaves the room and starts to head back to the emergency room, where his Host is suppose to rest. Marik didn't even knew how Bakura was able to steal back the ring, but he'll surely get it back as soon as Bakura returns to his supposedly-coma act. Marik keeps staring as the thief walks down the hallway and finally leaves his sight as he turns to the left corridor.

Marik sighs, as he is alone again in a room without light except for the TV hanging on the wall. He looks at the screen and sees Odion walking to the dueling platform. Joey is walking the same on the opposite side. That is his cue, and Marik leaves the room.

Little images of his dream start to flash again in his mind. He can't seem to remember exactly how his dream played out, but his feelings are still present. There is a shadow of himself; an image that he isn't sure who he is. Or maybe he knows pretty well who it is. Yet, Marik tries to make the image leave. Lock again in his mind, where it's safe.

And as he walks into the empty hallway, he starts repeating these words, hoping it would act as an incantation…a spell to keep him awake:

 _Just a little longer…_

 _Act as Malik for these dumb fools._

 _Act as Malik to get closer…_

 _Acts as Marik for Odion…for Bakura._

 _Just BE Marik a little longer…_

 _Just be Marik._

 _You ARE Marik…_

… _I am Marik._


End file.
